People smugglers running Channel crossings are sending groups of small boats to sea at the same time to make it more difficult for authorities to stop them all, an expert has said.
Lucy Moreton, head of the Immigration Services Union, told The National this change in strategy could, at least in part, be because French police have become more successful in intercepting single boats.
Ms Moreton that this shift to several boats being put to sea simultaneously has led to vessels being overloaded with larger numbers of migrants – making the crossing even more dangerous.
The strategy is, "you can’t catch all of us if we bunch together", she said.
The UK has agreed to pay France £478 million over the next three years in a bid to halt the crossings.
On Friday, Conservative MPs complained about the deal, saying Britain was not getting enough in return for the payments. The number of migrants authorities in France have stopped is reportedly fewer than last year. However, experts say that could be related to poor weather this summer, which has limited opportunities to cross.
According to a report in The Telegraph, official figures show that only 45.2 per cent, totalling 13,759 migrants, have been stopped by French beach patrols since January. The number was down from 17,032, 45.8 per cent, compared to the same period last year.
ISU members, who are on the frontline of the UK's battle to stem the wave of migrants, started seeing an increase in the size of boat and the number of people onboard each of them last summer.
"The practice of everyone trying to go at once started this year," Ms Moreton said.
She said the strategy directly led to the deaths of six Afghan migrants last week, after their small boat capsized in the English Channel.
Four people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the incident.
Her comments came after it was revealed 444 people arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in eight boats on Wednesday.
This takes the provisional total so far for 2023 to 17,234, according to Home Office data.
Border Force has reportedly been preparing for what it calls “red” days, when warm weather and calm seas are favourable for crossings – conditions which are expected to continue on the south coast into the weekend.
Ms Moreton said her members overwhelmingly feel that a better strategy would be to invest the many millions the UK is paying for schemes in France and Rwanda to improving resources here in the UK to speed up asylum application decisions.
"If we resource the systems in the UK properly, and not just the asylum decision making process - that typically takes between six months and a year.
"The majority of the delays are actually in the court system. The courts are overloaded," she said.
If the systems are resourced to enable the UK to take decisions within ideally six to eight weeks, but certainly less than six months, it "would become less of a draw for people who don’t have other reasons to come to the UK," she said.
"We feel, that if you are going to be here for years, you are going to be housed, fed, your children will be educated, your medical needs will be cared for [is a significant driver] And that will be the case for years," Ms Moreton told The National.
"That has to be a driver. There are lots of other drivers. I’m not suggesting that’s the only one. But that’s got to be quite a big pull."
There are many reasons people do travel to the UK, including family ties, or because they already speak English.
"There are lots of reasons behind it. There is not one simple easy answer to this.
"If there was, people would have done it before. And if you are going to spend all that money. And it’s millions upon millions into France, into Rwanda outsourcing the problem. Perhaps one alternative might be to spend that money in the UK.
"It’s the only thing we have control over."
Official figures recently revealed that more than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats from France to south-east England since Britain began publicly recording arrivals in 2018.
The route across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes has repeatedly proved perilous, with numerous boats capsizes and scores of migrants drowning in the waters over the past decade.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the boats one of his top five priorities ahead of next year’s general election.
He was recently warned that he must look beyond Britain's borders to find a solution to the small boats crisis.
Experts told The National that collaboration with Europe and further afield, including trying to cut off migrants at source by helping to improve conditions in their homelands, was the only way he would reduce illegal migration.
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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SECRET%20INVASION
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
